Green Servant Leadership and Its Relationship with Employees' Pro-Environmental Behavior: The Role of Green Self-Efficacy and Green Intrinsic Motivation

Ranji Jafroudi, Nima; Esmail Nezhad, Fatemeh

doi:10.30473/ee.2026.73181.2803

Green Servant Leadership and Its Relationship with Employees' Pro-Environmental Behavior: The Role of Green Self-Efficacy and Green Intrinsic Motivation

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

¹ Assistant Professor, Department of Management, Bandar Anzali Branch, Islamic Azad University, Bandar Anzali, Iran

² Master's degree, Department of Management, Bandar Anzali Branch, Islamic Azad University, Bandar Anzali, Iran

10.30473/ee.2026.73181.2803

Abstract

Implementing an environmental management program in organizations requires managers' and employees' willingness to do so and attention to the factors affecting it. Unlike green transformational leadership, there is little empirical research that examines the effects of green servant leadership specifically on employees' environmentally related behaviors. The present study aimed to examine the effect of green servant leadership on employees' pro-environmental behavior with regard to the mediating role of green self-efficacy and green intrinsic motivation.The present study was applied in terms of purpose and descriptive-analytical in terms of method, and was conducted using a survey method. The research method was quantitative, descriptive, and causal. Data collection was carried out using the Green Self-Efficacy Questionnaire by Yushan Chen et al. (2015), the Employees' Pro-Environmental Behavior Questionnaire by Robertson and Barling (2017), the Green Servant Leadership Questionnaire by Tavan (2019), and the Green Intrinsic Motivation Questionnaire by Wenning et al. (2020).The statistical population of this study included all employees and managers of gas and electricity companies in Guilan Province, numbering 1,163 people. The sample size was calculated using the Cochran formula as 300 people, and the structural equation modeling method was used to analyze the data using SmartPLS software.The results of the study showed that green servant leadership has a positive and significant effect on employees' pro-environmental behavior, green self-efficacy, and green intrinsic motivation. It was also found that green self-efficacy and green intrinsic motivation have a positive and significant effect on employees' pro-environmental behavior. In addition, the mediating role of green self-efficacy and green intrinsic motivation in the relationship between green servant leadership and employees' pro-environmental behavior was confirmed.Implementing an environmental management program in organizations requires environmental thinking and willingness on the part of managers and employees, and in order to promote environmental behavior, it is necessary to review educational methods and systems. The achievement of this goal requires enhancing employees' environmental behavior and adherence to the principles and standards of green management within the organization.

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